Mold and rot

First thing was to get access to the parapet above the second story. The awnings made this a challenge.

The building was (is) a mix of colors and pretty garish. A test of a warmer yellow was done on the upper floor shown in the photo on the right above. It didn't have the same rot and mildew so only got a cleaning and primer. I used a mix of Jonas and bleach to treat the upper section before repairs. The wood seems to be Redwood and, despite the look, is mostly solid. 

What have others done to clean prior to doing th is type of work?

TSP

Neil, Tri Sodium Phosphate, mixed with good old bleach...its probably your best solution. It will take most organic stuff off ( dirt, bird droppings, mold ) better than most anything else I have tried. Best applied with a sprayer, scrubbing for tough areas, then cleaned off with a power washer. I have used it for years on my deck, siding, and trim prior to staining, sealing, or painting. There are a LOT of things advertised as cleaners, but if you check the ingredients, most are composed of TSP. I buy a 20 lb. box for less than $10 at the Big Box Stores, and it lasts for years. For any inorganic stuff ( oil, grease, etc. ) Tide works on some of it, but there is Purple Power which WILL remove oil, I get mine at Wally World for about $8 a gallon. Again...sprayer with some elbow grease to get it off.
 Hope this helps.

Michael

30 Seconds

I tried a new product at Ace Hardware called "30 Seconds". It was pretty effective at killing the mold but old fashioned elbow grease seemed the best. After a test area I got serious. 

While played with the jungle gym, a friend sprayed the entire back side (facing the empty lot) and made for a productive couple days. Next weekend will give me a chance to finish up the tenant storefronts and try to reach the upper part of the parapet from the roof. In the meanwhile, a sign is in the works. To be continued. 

Thanks Michael for checking in and I am definitely going to get some tsp! It is so rare to get a couple sunny days in a row. Besides being quite sunburned I am so sore from all the climbing and moving the scaffolding. 

Going to look nice!

I think it is looking good, Neil. 1 : 1 structure painting is something I do NOT like doing. I once had a ladder colapse on me painting the second story of a house. Landed flat on my back without a scratch. Still, not my idea of a good time. It is good you can use the scaffolding, but a pain to move.

Nice you got a couple of days to make good progress.

@Ken

Thanks Ken! I am done for now.

The family got me a nice 2-6-0 that will need a decoder and speaker so that will keep me busy. I also got an old LaBelle kit in O standard gage for contrast to my little equipment. I'm not sure where to add a standard gage spur on my railroad and may repost my track plan to get some ideas and feedback from the group here.

A little diversion like this is just what I needed to remember that 1:48 is a lot more fun and doesn't make every muscle in my body hurt.

Neil, I feel your pain. I can

Neil, I feel your pain. I can certainly understand your desire to go back to scale models. No climbing to get to the top of a building, generally the equipment is light enough to handle with one hand even if we choose to use two so we can be more careful. From my blog it seems that myself and my friend Paul have been in the construction business for the last few years at the club.

We are getting much closer to finishing the big projects but we still have lots to do. With a bit of Luck we will begin some projects that are almost model projects, building a paint booth for one, painting the layout room, closing up the rest of the ceiling openings, insulating the ceiling where we can.

Who knows maybe we will be able to build models soon.

B&B

Rob: The "Bridges & Building" crew now has new meaning for me (also a Bed & Breakfast) and I don't mind the work. It is actually very rewarding. 

Over the last few years I have had a number of people work with me on improving this structure and when I went to replace the floor in the lobby it turned out the flooring and joists had to be replaced as well. This led to an opportunity to raise the floor a couple of feet (actually was 21" based on the existing stair riser heights) and created a space in the basement for my shop, now with an 8' ceiling.  As the bigger work got completed I have improved this space with the idea it would serve as an office but I still need to go thru it to get to the other spaces below the rest of the building. Renting would be out of the question but a small hobby shop .... Hmm. 

... to be continued?

Remodeling too . . .

Neil,

I'm right there with you.  We've been working the past few months on remodeling our kitchen and a basement room.  Almost done!  I managed to build a couple of HO buildings during that time, but it's certainly slowed me down and made me sore.  Here are the results of our efforts.

Basement projects at muy

Basement projects at muy house are wrapping up to, that means a possible layout soon all of these are looking nice to! 

Nice

Neil, your 1:1 project is looking good. Aren't you glad you don't have to do this all day, every day? Mind you, I do like my painting job, but it does have it's @#$% moments!

At least in Canada we only have to paint outside for half the year.

Just think, you'll soon be to the best part of any paint job, the point when you have the longest possible time between then and having to paint it again!

Post your results in 1:1

I was hoping this would encourage others to post.

Those kitchen cabinets are beautiful Michael. Granite countertops?

Keagan: You are killing me with anticipation. After all your great ideas and 3D printing it would be great to see where the layout is to come to fruition. 

Rick: I knew you were a professional painter but should have asked you to fly out! Your basement looks better than a lot of places around here. You mentioned that your home has appreciated (as has ours but still have a mortgage) but where would we go? Everything has gone up 

Where would we go?

I guess technically I haven't paid for her, I'm paying for her. Still have a mortgage too.

My one saving grace is that I want to move out of the city, going from inner city to a small town I can get twice the house for the same money. Hopefully that doesn't change when I decide to move.